PICTURE GALLERY: Olympic torch comes through Fakenham

Fakenham has seen one of the biggest turnouts for an even in living memory as thousands lined the route of the torch relay this afternoon.

The biggest crowd that Fakenham has seen for decades lined the town’s streets this afternoon to see the Olympic torch relay.

The torch arrived at 3.18pm and was carried along Wells Road and into Oak Street. The torch bearer at this point ran, skipped, waved and smiled as she made her way into the town centre.

Market Place had crowds several lines deep and people were peering from shop windows and standing on roof tops to get the best view.

The sides of Norwich Street and Holt Road were packed with people of all ages as the torch was carried through and on to Holt.

Jeremy Punchard, a North Norfolk District councillor, who helped to organise the Fakenham celebrations, said: “I reckon there must be 10,000 people out in Fakenham today, which is higher number than the town’s population! People have been coming in from nearby villages to get involved and it’s been fantastic.

“We’ve not seen crowds like this in Fakenham since the carnivals of more than 20 years ago, but even then, there were not as many people as there has been today.”

One of the torch bearers, Diego Rahman, 40, who ran the torch past his own Indian restaurant, Fakenham Tandoori, said: “The crowd was absolutely amazing and it felt like I was running in a huge stadium. I felt like I’d won a gold medal.”

“Both my auntie and my grandmother, who live back in Bangladesh, have both sadly died in the last 48 hours so it’s been a difficult time for me. I’m sure they would have been proud of me.

“I’ve been holding back the tears because I wanted to do this for Fakenham and the people showed me such great support.”

Celebrations started in Fakenham at 12pm with sports demonstrations run by local clubs and the district council. Fakenham High School pupils competed in races through Market Place.

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Olympic torch comes through Fakenham. Pictures by ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

Thousands lined the streets of Fakenham to see the Olympic torch carried through the town. Picture: Ian Burt

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I thought the coverage of the Fakenham Town Torch Bearer Celebrations were VERY poorly covered. Considering it was a major event for the people of Fakenham Town, we seemed to have been missed in the local and national news...WHAT HAPPENED? Was our local news not as important as a celebrity whose's getting a divorce??? Give our local news a chance please.

poor reporting. Even instead of event. "lined the town’s streets yesterday to see the Olympic torch relay this afternoon." yesterday? Today? No mention of torchbearers name. But some councillor menaged to get his name in . Very poor.

A few typos, yes, but the torchbearer's name was mentioned! 'Diego' did a great job at a difficult personal time, it turns out. Well done Mujibur. Also in the journalist's defence, Mr. Punchard is somebody he would naturally approach to get a quote on the day, so I don't think it's a case of 'getting his name in'.

But not Fakenham powerlifter Ian Tudor, who having reached that age last October has been working to get back to the top of his sport after being side-lined with injury for the best part of three years.

After a last minute venue change due to safety concerns caused by a typical English summer, the Norfolk Basketball Festival – in partnership with the Solar Shed and the Norfolk Awards – got started as scheduled at the UEA Sportspark in Norwich, writes Diccon Lloyd-Smeath.